Jeremy Clarkson, the former Top Gear presenter, has shared a unique and “most dangerous” driving habit he enjoys since managing Diddly Squat Farm. After taking over the vast 1,000-acre Oxfordshire farm in 2019, Jeremy documented his farming journey on Prime Video’s Clarkson’s Farm and expanded the business to include a shop selling his Hawkstone lager and even took on The Farmer’s Dog pub in Asthall Barrow.
The route between the farm and pub stretches 8.5 miles along some of England’s most scenic and challenging roads. Clarkson’s “dangerous” hobby involves timing his journey to match the duration of a single song. He finds this easier with lengthy prog rock tracks like Mike Oldfield’s Amarok, which runs for an hour, and more challenging with shorter ones like Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Pirates, which lasts 13 minutes.
Recently, Clarkson completed the trip while listening to Genesis’s Supper’s Ready, a 23-minute epic, calling it “tremendous driving and great music.” His hobby aligns with findings from an Allianz insurance study revealing that faster-paced music, above 120 beats per minute, tends to increase driving speed by 5 to 10 mph and affects heart rate variability, which can cause unpredictable driving behavior.
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The study also noted younger drivers are more likely to stream music and that mindful, slower-tempo tunes (between 60 to 80 bpm) might promote safer driving. Collaborating with Spotify, Allianz compiled playlists designed to maintain a calming driving atmosphere.
Commenting on the study, Jeremy humorously observed that fans of Judie Tzuke’s Stay With Me Till Dawn would drive at a leisurely pace, while those blasting Kenny Loggins’ Footloose might arrive “home before you set off.”